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Our latest Snappy Operas Festival will be our most inclusive yet, bringing together schools and communities across England to celebrate the joy of opera. The Festival will take place in targeted regions, connecting partners, schools, teachers and artists with a network of like-minded professionals with a shared passion and understanding of how the arts can enrich the lives of primary aged children.

We'll be working with around 20 mainstream schools, engaging approximately 40 teachers & learning support assistants and 600 primary school children with our ever going Snappy Operas canon. Over the course of a term, children from each school will learn and rehearse a Snappy Opera before coming together with other schools in their region for a Gala Showcase at a professional theatrical venue close to home.

We'll also be working with three specialist schools, engaging the entire school populations through Roll Up! - a specially devised, immersive Snappy Opera project, created with and for pupils at specialist SEND schools. Inspired by circus and storytelling traditions, it enables whole-school communities to co-create music, movement and performance tailored to the abilities and interests of their pupils, offering a flexible, sensory-rich operatic experience, culminating in a collaborative in-school sharing.

As part of the 2026 Festival, we are also developing a new DIY Snappy Opera. Experienced Snappy Operas delivery artists Michael Betteridge & Freya Wynn-Jones are helping us to create this new Snappy Opera, which will give schools the opportunity to stage a Snappy Opera using their own skills, resources and timescales, without the need for regular visits from a professional delivery team. This will provide an opportunity for more schools to introduce opera as an artform to their pupils, or a progression route for schools that have been involved in the traditional Snappy Operas delivery model in the past. This approach will remove financial and time constraint barriers, enabling more children and teachers to benefit from Snappy Operas. To support schools to engage, Mahogany Opera will offer training for teachers and a range of resources to help schools to stage their opera, which will have the flexibility to engage just one class, or the entire school community.

The Snappy Opera Festival 2026 will engage partners and schools in West Cumbria, the North East, Hull and North East Lincolnshire, with activity taking place across Spring & Summer 2026.

Are you a school, venue, music service or festival interested in Snappy Operas?
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Are you are an artist interested in working on our Snappy Operas programme?
Check out our Mainstream Delivery Artist Open Call
Check out our SEND Delivery Artist Open Call

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